"Nearly 1,000 Palestinians are stranded at the Rafah crossing, which has been sealed by Israel. They are growing increasingly desperate.

"Just outside the big, dusty grates that mark the entrance to the no-man's land between the two countries, some 500 refugees sit in make-shift tents awaiting word from the Israelis about when they can go home.

"On Friday morning, 24-year-old Palestinian Maher Wadi died there. As his body was allowed through the crossing and into Gaza for burial, Farouk Salam looked to the sky, muttering, 'where is the justice?'

"Salam, a post office manager in Gaza City for the Palestinian Authority looked around at his brothers and sisters, finally turning and asking if this is what Israel wants for the Palestinians.

"'Do you call this just punishment?' Salam asked referring to the Israeli military incursions into Gaza and the closure of all its border posts in response to the capture of an Israeli soldier last week by the Hamas military wing.

"'A two-year-old child has died. A 15-year-old has died, and adults have died,' he claimed, adding, 'I don't care about the kidnapped soldier anymore. All I want to do is go home.'"

Since Palestinian soldiers - presumably loyal to Fatah - were among those holding back the flood, this can only rebound to Hamas's political benefit.

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About Me

I am an Associate Professor in History at Shippensburg University, where I teach courses in Middle Eastern and world history. My two major research areas are the Middle East from the 7th through 10th centuries and the Persian Gulf from ancient times to the present. Nothing on this site represents an official position of Shippensburg University.